1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a harness for dragging an animal carcass such as a deer. In particular, the invention relates to a harness which is fitted about the head of an animal carcass and is attachable to a tether line for pulling the carcass along the ground. The harness is adjustable by slip fittings between transversely oriented straps and includes length adjustments permitting the harness to be fitted to engage the animal's head and can be arranged also to engage the animal's front legs adjacent to the head.
2. Prior Art
It can be difficult for hunters to remove the carcass of a large animal such as a deer, elk or moose from the area where the animal was killed. Often, hunting is done in rough or wooded terrain and kills often occur at a remote location without clear paths and at a substantial distance from the hunters' camp or vehicle. The carcass of the animal must be transported by the hunter to a base camp or vehicle. One possible method for transporting the carcass is for the hunter to carry it over his shoulder, but this is undesirable because the carcass may be large and heavy, and is likely to be bloody. Furthermore, it is dangerous to carry a deer because an elevated moving deer carcass could easily be mistaken by another hunter for a live deer, with fatal consequences to the person carrying the carcass. Therefore, it is preferred to drag the carcass along the ground.
One method employed for dragging a carcass is to loop one end of a rope around the animal in a slip knot, optionally to attach a stick at the other end of the rope, and with one person on each side of the carcass, to drag the animal toward the destination. The rope is normally attached at the neck. In the case of deer, if the rope is affixed to the neck, the feet may tend to snag on obstacles, or if attached to the front legs, antlers may snag. However the rope is attached, the hunter may need to maneuver the carcass between and over trees, bushes, rocks and other obstacles.
The rope or drag line may be long, but a relatively short rope is advantageous in view of the occasional need to lift the carcass to clear obstacles and/or to return to the carcass to clear it when snagged by trees, brush or the like. This simple rope method can serve when two persons are available, but a single person may have difficulty in moving the carcass according to this method.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,164--Burlison discloses an animal dragging assist in the form of a bar handle which helps a lone person to transport the carcass of an animal such as a deer, dragged along on its back. The device comprises a short bar or handle having a pair of spaced U-bolts at opposite ends. The front legs of the carcass are clamped to the bar by the U-bolts at the ankle joint, and the hunter grasps the bar between them. A line secured to the bar is looped under the animal's neck adjacent to the head to hold it up off the ground against lolling back on the neck. This device is compact but has a limitation in that the carcass is not streamlined in a manner that might minimize snagging and difficulty with obstacles, particular with respect to antlers. The snout of the animal carcass is not elevated and the head hangs down from the point at which the neck is attached to the bar by the line. As a result, in this arrangement the antlers and perhaps the snout of the carcass can snag on obstacles encountered in the terrain over which the carcass is dragged.
In Burlison the loop and bar must be attached to the front legs and head of the carcass at fixed relative positions defined by the spacing of the U-bolts and the length of the line. If the animal is left lying on the ground for a time, the carcass may become rigid from rigor mortis and difficult to arrange at the necessary relative positions. If the front legs stiffen in a retracted position adjacent to the torso, when the hunter grips the bar and stands upright, he may only be able to proceed by lifting the carcass substantially off the ground instead of dragging it along.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,996,228--Bauman discloses a vest-like pulling harness to be worn by the hunter to drag an animal via a drag line attached to the animal's neck. The harness has a breast pad attached to individually length adjustable belt and shoulder straps coupled to an eye ring at the back of the harness, to which the drag line is affixed. Bauman allows the hunter to drag the carcass without having to lift it. However, Bauman's arrangement fails to orient the carcass or to deal with the lack of streamlining due to the antlers, snout and front legs, which can become entangled in obstacles such as trees or rocks. Devices similar to Bauman are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,077,292--Gehrke; 4,397,500--Moffitt; and, 2,931,629--Keller.